Stratton's Smart Publishing Vol. 12 No. 3

Smart

Stratton’s

Digital editions grew to

5.4

million from 2 million last

year, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

STATS

30% 14

Time tablet users spend on their devices each week.

TRIVIA

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE:

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How much does the hefty, 916-page September 2012 issue of Vogue weigh?

What is the only country in which Twitter is more commonly used than Facebook?

Where do people most often

Fall 2012 • Vol. 12, No. 3

Publishing

Percent of companies that respond to social media fans’ feedback.

HOURS

strattonpublishing.com facebook.com/strattonpublishing twitter.com/strattonpub

ideas, strategies, and solutions on the business of publishing Communications Management

Re-Engineering the Communications Pro New skillsets—and mindsets—required for evolving media landscape

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oday’s publishing challenges require new skillsets, a hard pill to swallow for some long-time communications experts.

Recruiting today’s and tomorrow’s communications leaders—and figuring out what characteristics they should possess—has become a challenging issue for associations. New ways of thinking about how to communicate with members, new sources for content, and the challenge to create once and publish often requires people who are constantly learning.

“In today’s association publishing environment, it’s not all about social and new media—although, of course, that’s important,” says Diane Rusignola, managing editor at Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America. “It’s about relearning old skills, and rethinking ways to do things.”

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See COMMUNICATIONS PRO, page 6

use their tablets?

Revenue Generation

Which social media platform is best for a magazine brand?

Answers on page 2.

INSIDE 2 3 4 8

Stratton Report Case Study

3 Minutes With...

Idea Swap PMS 2627

Strange Bedfellows Associations weigh the benefits and risks of teaming up with the competition

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ould your for-profit competition be an ally instead of an enemy? As associations search for creative ways to innovate and provide value to members, some are considering partnering with “the competition” to share non-dues revenues. But is it a good idea?

Yes, say some executives—but only if it’s a good match and the partnership will benefit both parties equally. Associations stand to gain from relationships that will fill members’ needs and increase membership value. Determining which partners See Partnering, page 5

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Stratton report

Association Publishing Meets Car Talk Publishing ‘mechanics’ go under the hood to diagnose the rattles and groans

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ne of my favorite Saturday morning rituals is listening to NPR’s “Car Talk” on my way to exercise class, as “Click and Clack” dispense humorous advice to callers trying to diagnose tricky car troubles.

Just like car owners, publishing professionals face rattles and groans of their own, so we thought, “Why not host our own version of the show?”

At ASAE’s Annual Meeting in Dallas last August, Stratton presented “Under the Hood: Car Talk Takes on Association Publishing.” The lively, interactive session featured our own panel of publishing and media Start your own subscription.

Visit www.strattonpublishing.com to sign up to receive Stratton’s Smart Publishing. Or contact Josephine Rossi at jrossi@stratton

publishing.com.

Smart

Publishing Stratton’s Smart Publishing is designed to provide publishers, editors, marketers, and other business professionals with strategies to meet today’s print and electronic media challenges. The publication is free.

Publisher: Debra J. Stratton dstratton@strattonpublishing.com Contributing Editors: Angela Brady, Lia Dangelico, Josephine Rossi, Christine Umbrell Design: Janelle Welch Stratton Headquarters 5285 Shawnee Road, Suite 510 Alexandria, VA 22312-2334 Phone: 703.914.9200 Fax: 703.914.6777 pubpros@strattonpublishing.com www.strattonpublishing.com Angerosa Research Foundation info@angerosaresearch.org www.angerosaresearch.org © Copyright 2012, Stratton Publishing & Marketing Inc.

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Summer 2002

mechanics, who addressed some tricky questions and dispensed some solid advice.

The fodder was plentiful— from digital publishing and social media strategies to revenue generation, staff management, and content curation.

Our association publishing master mechanics included Maggie McGary, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association; Gary Rubin, Society for Human Resource Management; Wendy Mann, National Telecommunications Cooperative Association; and Andrew Moore, Nxtbook.

Here’s a look at some of the choice nuggets doled out to the overflow crowd at the event:

Social Media: How do you get started and develop a strategy? How do you manage staff? How do you evaluate ROI or ROE (engagement) in terms senior staff/CEOs will understand?

Car Talk Takeaways: • Social media must be part of your association’s communication mix and plan if your want to remain relevant and appeal to the next generation of members.

• Staff social media operations with experienced professionals; it’s not a job for your summer intern.

• Establish goals and measure ROI on website traffic increases and conversion on traffic referred from social sites, such as new member recruitment, sponsor leads and conversions, increases in event attendance, expanded readership of digital publications, etc.

• Cultivate the online community: As younger members have less time/resources to devote to traditional volunteering/face-to-face meetings, leverage online communities and influence to expand your organization’s brand.

• Invest in and budget for social media if you want results. Forprofit companies are devoting more and more resources to social media. Check out social

media monitoring software (Radian 6), social media management software (Sprout Social), white label online community platforms (Jive), and social customer-relationship management (CRM).

Make sure the technology is used effectively. One example: Lots of associations are investing in white-label social platforms but not devoting any staff resources to those online communities.

Digital Publishing: How can you build digital engagement and drive more revenues to digital? What’s a good print/digital advertising model? How do you get traditional ad sales staff to understand how to position and sell the benefits of digital?

Car Talk Takeaways: • To build value and engagement, add enhancements to editorial content like videos, audio, reader polls, and more. The American Society for Industrial Security (asisonline.org) and the American Physical Therapy Association (apta.org) are two organizations that have effectively developed interactive digital publications.

• Spend some time strategizing before you go digital.

Determine your goals and a strategy to maximize the platform for users, advertisers, and others.

• Dig into your data; metrics tell a story. Use that information to make refinements to your plan and tweak efforts to better align with member needs.

• Leverage the technology without a lot of added cost. Post videos taken with your iPhone/ Droid and ask authors/members to post, too. Ask authors to post their LinkedIn profiles next to their articles.

• Digital publishing is exploding: More than 5 million digital editions are produced now.

While a native app is part of the mix, it’s not the end-all.

To maximize your audience, you also need a good web app and a good digital edition solution, which can account for more than 80 percent of the total audience.

• Tablets continue to flood the market, improve their browsers and processing power, and allow mobile browser apps to perform like a native app. The cloud will continue to grow, too, and it’s where readers will store their mobile digital editions in the future—not in libraries on their 32GB hard drive.

Staffing/Organization: How can you develop content strategy across the organization and keep up with the need for fresh content? How do you manage expanding workload and shrinking staff resources?

How do you handle the challenge of staff who are more technically savvy than leadership and impatient at slow movement?

Car Talk Takeaways: • Engage other departments in your quest to identify content opportunities to repurpose See STRATTON REPORT, page 6

Trivia Answers from the front page: 1. 4 pounds, 10 ounces 2. Japan. 3. Living room 4. Facebook.

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Case Study

Name Game

Associations reveal communication branding success

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tatesmen and writers have always known the importance of a name—just ask Julius Caesar or William Shakespeare. In the association world, the name of a magazine, newsletter, or blog also carries a lot of weight because it gives initial insight to the organization’s mission, target membership, and more.

But finding the right name isn’t easy, so we asked association professionals how they went about branding their communications vehicles in an effort to find out what goes into the process.

Searching for the Perfect Name Some associations search for the perfect moniker at the launch of new communication vehicle. In 2009, the National Apartment Association (NAA) decided to create a blog, and conducted an organization-wide competition to find the right name: APTly Spoken. Leaders liked the double entendre, which hints at the nature of the association’s

business and the blog’s tendency for candid conversation, notes Michelle Sherman, online communications specialist. As a result, NAA was able to brand its blog in a way that broadcasts its purpose directly to its target audience.

At the American Student Dental Association (ASDA), staff named the organization’s Mouthing Off blog after a popular department in ASDA’s newsletter to inspire a lighthearted feel for the community. “We wanted it to have a slightly different voice—it can be much

AALAS chose a name for its magazine that described its broad scope of readers.

also maintains consistency with ASDA’s other publications—its e-newsletter Word of Mouth and magazine Mouth.

Sometimes, naming is a more collaborative effort.

Earlier this year, the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) part-

The American Student Dental Association chose the blog name “Mouthing Off” to inspire a lighthearted feel for the community. more playful and current than some of our other publications,” says Kim Schneider, communications editor for ASDA and a 2012 recipient of the Angerosa Research Foundation’s Rising Star Scholarship. The name

ASDA’s Mouthing Off has hosted more than 60 contributors in just two years.

APTly Spoken encourages candid conversation between NAA members.

nered with Stratton to conduct a feasibility study for the launch of a new member magazine and create the design look for the quarterly. “Stratton helped guide us in choosing a name that best represented our association,” says Chris Lyons, CAE, associate executive director for AALAS. “They provided a number of suggestions for names and taglines, and we drew up a list of possible names as well.

We listened carefully to their feedback.” After some back and forth, both parties agreed to a name that described the broad scope of readers, from veterinarians to lab technicians: Laboratory Animal Science Professional. One name considered, LasPro, was ultimately discarded “because the design and the impact seemed more informal than what we were striving for,” says Lyons.

Reaping the Benefits The perfect union of brand and purpose can pay off in increased membership, page views and subscriptions, and engagement.

With APTly Spoken, NAA established the blog as the place for information and perspectives on the latest in the apartment

industry, says Sherman. The blog is a community in and of itself— drawing together members, conference and event speakers, and industry experts who discuss a variety topics. “There are a lot of interesting people out there who are experts on topics that we don’t know enough about,” says Sherman. APTly Spoken continues to enhance and expand the organization’s reach among its readership and beyond, which is part of the reason it received a 2011 Bronze Excel Award for best blog from Association Media & Publishing.

For AALAS, the name emphasizes the association’s commitment to professionalism and quality within the industry. “We collectively decided that Laboratory Animal Science Professional was the best fit considering it parallels the association’s mission statement,” says Lyons. “AALAS is an association of professionals that advances responsible laboratory animal care and use to benefit people and animals.”

As for Mouthing Off, since launching two years ago, it has hosted more than 60 contributors—including ASDA staff and student members—and has become a direct portal to volunteering. “A lot of students are interested in writing,” says Schneider, “so when they want to get involved but aren’t sure they want to take a huge step and time commitment, the blog is an easy way to transition to volunteering on the national level.” Mouthing Off continues to grow, and with approximately 7,000 monthly visitors, it has become a great source for increased engagement, sponsorship opportunities, and a lure for traffic to the ASDA website.

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Minutes with….

Maggie McGary Q

Is social media just a fad and do members pay attention to it?

Online community and social media manager for the American Speech-LanguageHearing Association and the Angerosa Research Foundation’s 2011 Publishing Trendsetter of the Year

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“The reality is that while setting up an account on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or any other social networking site is free and takes only minutes, success comes from using these platforms strategically over

the long haul.”

A You only need to look at how social media has pervaded mainstream media to realize that it is not a fad. TV news anchors deliver the news— then tell viewers their Twitter handle so they can follow them to stay abreast of what’s happening between broadcasts. Movie trailers direct audiences to “like” a movie’s Facebook page and follow the film on Twitter. Brands provide customer service via Twitter and Facebook.

Social media is woven into every other part of your members’ lives. Far too many associations are banking on social media being a fad that they’ll be able to wait out, or asserting that their members aren’t using social media. The reality is that members are exposed to it on a daily basis and it’s becoming engrained in the way all businesses operate. Members expect the same interaction from their association.

Q How do you measure ROI for social media?

A Coming up with relevant and useful metrics for social media is challenging, especially for associations. For-profits measure sales and leads generated by social media activities; however, those numbers may not be relevant to associations that have a very specific focus and target audience.

“Return on engagement” and other similarly vague terms make the whole concept challenging, because engagement means different things to different people. But associations can and should measure some concrete numbers including traffic to website, conversions on traffic referred from

quick clicks Customize It www.shortstack.com

Host contests, conduct polls, enable sharing on your widgets, and boost engagement with fans using ShortStack.

This affordable tool can help you customize Facebook Pages to better suit your needs.

Keep Up With the Conversation www.bottlenose.com

You don’t have time to track every popular news story out there, so let Bottlenose do it for you. This real-time discovery engine measures what your followers are talking about, and presents a live streaming view of the top insights, trends, and topics.

Track Tweets www.peekanalytics.com

Not quite sure how to measure your Twitter progress?

PeekAnalytics provides specific, digestible demographic and psychographic insights into your social audience. Reports can be generated on followers, shares, trending topics, and URLs.

social sites, ideas generated for new products and services, potential leads for new advertisers or sponsors, increased public awareness of the organization’s issues, and word-of-mouth buzz about the association’s events and resources.

Q

There are so many social media platforms. How do you decide where your association should have an official presence?

A Public social media sites are free, so it’s tempting to just set up shop on all of them. But, the reality is that while setting up an account on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or any other social networking site is free and takes only minutes, success comes from using these platforms strategically over the long haul.

To reap the rewards of social media success, a significant amount of time investment is necessary. Creating content, monitoring and responding to questions and comments, and measuring results all take time and resources. And, the more platforms your organization is engaging on, the more time is necessary. Don’t think of social media as an item on a checklist—set up a Facebook page and a Twitter account and you’re done. Rather, see each as an opportunity for long-term engagement and results. Define who will be responsible for maintaining each account and ensure that person understands that success depends on daily content, moderation, and analysis. Research where your members are interacting or going for information, and focus your efforts on those platforms. Don’t worry as much about platforms that don’t fit your member demographics or have a lot of business value for your association.

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match your organization’s needs is the key to success.

Choosing a Cohort Association/for-profit liaisons can provide an opportunity for two groups to play to their strengths, according to Erin Pressley, vice president of publishing for NACS, The Association for Convenience & Fuel Retailing.

“Look at any partnership as a way to enhance or expand what you’re doing.”

NACS has partnered with direct competitors on more than one occasion; currently, the association works with a competitor in offering a state-of-theindustry event. NACS releases important industry data and runs the event, and the partner publishes the data in a special issue of its magazine. NACS reaps several rewards from this partnership, including profits, increased exposure throughout the industry, and the opportunity to prevent the competitor from trying to stage a similar event on its own.

“Sometimes you have to keep your ‘enemies’ close,” as a preventive measure, says Pressley.

Gary Rubin, senior vice president, publishing and

When NOT to Join Forces ❫ W hen a direct competitor wants to do something you already do well by yourself. Some for-

profits may be seeking to partner instead of spending money (in the form of advertising or exhibiting) or to leverage a direct or tacit endorsement, Rubin warns. Don’t partner with direct competitors looking to take advantage of your group’s access and your brand.

❫ W hen you’re rushing into an agreement without conducting due diligence. Be sure to research your competitor and his or her other alliances. “Never get ‘deal fever,’” says Rubin.

❫ W hen you don’t have a well-defined exit strategy in place. Always have an exit strategy, says

Pressley. This will ensure your competitor does not grow stronger while your position weakens over the course of your working relationship. “You want to be well-positioned—to either have gained market share or prevented your partner from gaining market share” by the end of your alliance, she says.

cies for HR.” Harvard brought its business excellence into the partnership while SHRM brought its ability to connect to the HR community.

“We were a brand of equals with Harvard,” explains Rubin.

“We couldn’t have done the business aspect of this project better than Harvard”—so both organizations, as well as SHRM members, benefitted.

Partnering in Publishing When it comes to publications, it may be wise to use

“The commercial partner is likely to get significant benefit from being perceived as ‘endorsed’ by the association, even when it’s an arm’s length business relationship.”

—Judson Haverkamp, Minnesota State Bar Association

e-media, at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) encourages association professionals to find partners that can fill a void. He points to one example of a partnership that worked beautifully at his organization: SHRM partnered with Harvard University Press in developing several books and training seminars related to the topic of “business competen-

extra caution, says Judson Haverkamp, editor of Bench & Bar of Minnesota, a publication of the Minnesota State Bar Association. He believes that in most cases, “the commercial partner is likely to get significant benefit from being perceived as ‘endorsed’ by the association, even when it’s an arm’s length business relationship.”

“From a media standpoint,

Watch for our new interactive iPad App, coming soon!

you’re obviously competing— for advertising dollars, and for eyeballs,” agrees Pressley. But there are times when for-profit competitors serve a complementary purpose. “Look at what makes you different—and use that to find a way to work together,” she says.

Remember that each association is different and has its own organizational culture. NACS has a growth-driven culture, so partnerships are useful: “We want to serve the whole industry,” says Pressley. Because there are four convenience industry magazines in circulation, NACS recognizes there are some industry members the other publications reach that NACS does not. So the association leverages partnerships “to reach those groups,” says Pressley.

Associations also should look for partners that would benefit from being associated with a nonprofit. According to Steven Worth, president of Plexus Consulting Group and author of The Power of Partnerships, today’s corporations have become much more socially conscious, and linking their name to not-for-profit organizations can raise the public’s estimation of those companies.

“Managed carefully, such partnerships can reap promotional

value for both partners,” he says.

Worth believes associations should be proactive in seeking partnerships that can work to their advantage, citing as an example the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) partnering with a forprofit magazine to increase revenue for its trade show. BOMA received a great deal of publicity to energize its show while the magazine benefitted from tapping into BOMA’s membership.

When To Say No While relationships such as these result in win-wins for both partners, every association considering a partnership should start by asking the question: How will this relationship benefit my organization? “You need to look carefully; every deal is different,” advises Rubin.

Before signing a contract, make sure your potential partner is well-vetted.

Never underestimate the power of your association brand and your relationship with your members. If you recognize all that you bring to the table, and understand exactly how your partner will increase the value of your association, then you will be empowered to make the best decision for the future of your organization and your members.

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Glenn Cook, publisher and executive editor of the National School Boards Association’s (NSBA) American School Board Journal, agrees. “We have been looking at all the products we produce and how the content can cut across multiple audiences in multiple formats,” he says. “Our writers are no longer working on one story in isolation and then moving on to the next. They can’t. There’s not enough time. Keeping our audience in mind first, we have to find ways to tell the story without burning out the staff and alienating the reader in a 24-7, all-the-time world. No question, it’s a challenge.”

advertising was already unsteady.

We knew we had to do something to cut costs and be more streamlined in getting our messages out.”

Fast forward to 2012: NSBA has one department working on communications and publications across the organization.

The association produces 20 print publications and an online news site, operations are streamlined and efficient, and NSBA saved $700,000.

But without staff who were willing to do the heavy lifting, it never would’ve happened. Such dramatic changes don’t occur without energized and competent professionals who embrace change, collaborate with others, and are easily adaptable.

“Over the past six years, association publishing—all publishing really—has been forced to take on an ‘adapt or die’ attitude. We have lost some people, as we have consolidated the publications we produce and dealt with the same economy everyone else faces, and that’s tough. No one wants to lose staff, but we had to work differently,” Cook explains.

Adapt or Die

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In 2006, NSBA was producing 56 publications a year in several different departments with little to no coordination with the communications department.

NSBA had separate websites for the organization and its flagship magazine, work was duplicated across departments, efficiencies were lost, and revenue was fading.

“You could see the handwriting on the wall,” says Cook, who became head of NSBA’s publishing operations that year.

“The Internet was eating into circulation revenue and print

Inventory Your Needs Finding and recruiting players

The Commnications Pro: Then & Now

Then.

Now...

Inflexible By the book Works alone “Not a computer person” Big spender Enjoys the 3-martini lunch Lecturer Buttoned down Prefers style over substance

Adaptable Creative Collaborates Technologically enthusiastic Thrifty Brainstorms over lunch Blogger Unconventional Prefers substance over style

that will play well in the new communications game also is no easy feat. Rusignola suggests conducting an “inventory of your needs” and then looking within the organization for any hidden skillsets that might match up to those needs. The goal is to work more strategically.

“Dig up the reporting skills you’ve put on the shelf for five, 10, or 20 years,” she suggests.

“Think about working smarter,

Stratton Report

HAVE YOU LEFTYOUR YOUR UNIQUE MARK MARK ON content, VE YOU LEFT UNIQUE ONhold informal discussions, and listen to reports ASSOCIATION COMMUNICATIONS? in meetings to find out what ASSOCIATION COMMUNICATIONS? most pressing issues are for HAVE YOU LEFT YOUR UNIQUE MARK ON ASSOCIATION COMMUNICATIONS? Enter the Association TRENDS All Media Contest www.associationtrends.com/allmedia OPENS AUGUST 2012

not harder. That may sound like a cliché, but if you truly put it into practice, it’s going to save you hours and weeks of work, and it’s going to result in better content with a longer shelf life.

“Hiring new, innovative people is important—but it’s not a financial reality for a lot of associations,” she continues.

“Instead, reuse and relearn some of the skills that you already have in your back pocket.”

from page 2

members. Create a content strategy based on upcoming activities. Be prepared to shift content if something comes up or policy messages shift.

• Look for ways to change or adapt existing products to reduce the time it takes to produce them and enable communications team to launch new initiatives. You must be willing to take something off the plate to add something to the plate.

• Use your PR news tracking services to identify content to curate from outsides sources. Each day, scan the media hits report and find stories of interest to your audience. Pick a few to curate for

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or other social media outlets.

• Be vigilant in monitoring issues of interest to your members so that you can tap into that content and use it for your own platforms.

Maybe it’s time to peer under your hood. Use these Car Talk Takeaways as a starting point—check the fluids, balance the tires, and change the spark plugs. Your publishing operation will run more smoothly and you’ll get more mileage out of your existing initiatives.

nter the Association TRENDS All Media Contest Enter the Association TRENDS All Media Contest www.associationtrends.com/allmedia www.associationtrends.com/allmedia OPENS AUGUST 2012

OPENS October AUGUST 2012 Deadline: 31, 2012

Debra Stratton dstratton@strattonpublishing.com twitter.com/debrastratton

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calendar

What’s New at Stratton

Upcoming industry events

Debra Stratton To Receive Industry Honor On Wednesday, October 31, President Debra Stratton will be honored with the Women Who Advance Excellence in Associations Industry Partner of the Year Award during ASAE’s In Honor of Women program at the Capital Hilton in Washington, DC. The awards program gives special recognition to female association executives and industry partners who have set the standard of excellence in their professional lives through their leadership, mentoring, and career advancement.

Luncheon keynote speaker, Liza Mundy, reporter and New York Times best-selling author, will discuss her newest book, “The Richer Sex: How the New Majority of Female Breadwinners Is Transforming Sex, Love and Family.” She argues that women’s rising economic power bodes well for both sexes, offering a range of new possibilities and more flexible roles.

Other association executives to be honored at the luncheon: • Community Award: Sharon Swan, FASAE, CAE, CEO, American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics • Lifetime Achievement Award: Anne Bryant, CAE, Ed.D, executive director, National School Boards Association • Posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award: Marie Fallon, EdD, MHSA, CEO, The

n Stratton Smart Media Roundtable October 25, Alexandria, VA www.strattonpublishing.com n

2012 MediaNext Show

(formerly Folio: Show)

October 29-31, New York City www.medianextshow.com/

National Association of Local Boards of Health • Mentors of the Year Award: Velma Hart, FASAE, CAE, CFO, Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Debbie Hackman, CAE, CEO, Georgia Nurses Association • Rising Star Award: Rebecca Spicer, VP of communications and public affairs, National Beer Wholesalers Association.

Please join us to help celebrate this career milestone. For more information on the program and to register, visit www.asaecenter.org/ honorwomen.

Learning By Design Wins Tabbie Award The Spring 2012 issue of Learning By Design, published

by Stratton in conjunction with the National School Boards Association, was honored in the Best Single Issue category of the Tabbie Awards, sponsored by TABPI: Trade Association Business Publications International.

Stratton Bids Farewell to Intern If you visited Stratton’s Facebook page this summer and followed the adventures of Sam

n 2012 Association TRENDS All Media Contest Early Bird Deadline: October 15; Final Deadline: October 31 www.associationtrends.com/ allmedia

wondering where he went. Sam has returned to the University of Texas for his sophomore year of college, but he will check back in from time to time to let the Stratton community know how his tenure at Stratton has helped in his advertising studies this year. Visit the Stratton Facebook page to follow along.

Waymire, a college student who joined the Stratton team for several months as a marketing/ publications intern, you may be

Second Smart Media Roundtable Announced: Content Curation Building on the success of Stratton’s inaugural Smart Media Roundtable last spring, a second event has been planned

ISO: The Next Publishing Trendsetter and Rising Stars Are you (or someone at your organization) an association Publishing Trendsetter, blazing the trail for fellow professionals? Or are you a Rising Star with a promising future in association communications? Now is your turn to shine!

December 14 is the deadline for applications for the 2013 Angerosa Research Foundation Publishing Trendsetter Award and Rising Scholarship Program. For more information and to download an application, visit www.angerosaresearch.org, or scan the QR code below. Honorees will be announced in early February and formally recognized in Washington, D.C.

n ASAE’s 2012 In Honor of Women Program October 31, Capitol Hilton, Washington, DC Luncheon & Awards Ceremony with Liz Mundy, 12:45 to 3:00 p.m. www.asaecenter.org/ honorwomen

Mediabistro’s Media App Summit December 3, New York City www.mediabistro.com n

for October 25 and will bring together industry leaders to collaborate on the future of content generation. Be on the lookout for a follow-up white paper at the conclusion of the event, to be posted on strattonpublishing.com, or email jrossi@strattonpublishing.com if you would like to participate.

Join our LinkedIn Group for Timely Discussions Looking to continue the discussion introduced at Stratton’s first Smart Media Roundtable?

Jump into the conversation and add your thoughts on tapping on new revenue streams, maximizing digital engagement, building social media stats, and other issues confronting today’s publishers by joining our new group on LinkedIn. Log onto www.linkedin.com/ groups/Strattons-Smart-MediaRoundtables-4552516 or just search for the group “Stratton’s Smart Media” to get updates and add your two cents.

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How are associations demonstrating the value of

Idea Swap

Digital Advertising?

“NSTA offers digital advertisers a robust universe of nearly one million e-newsletter subscribers and 100,000 unique monthly website visitors. We provide open rate and click-through data for e-newsletter campaigns via MagnetMail and unique visitor, page view, and time-on site information for web advertisements via Google Analytics.

For branding and awareness campaigns, we emphasize the open rate/page views, while for direct response campaigns we highlight the click-through numbers. Additionally, we always reinforce that e-advertising is a supplement to all other traditional forms of marketing that enhances their visibility and reach with our audience.”

Jason Sheldrake Assistant Director, Advertising, Exhibits & Workshops National Science Teachers Association

“We work with an association client that recently converted its monthly print magazine into a content-based website and implemented a banner management module to track banner ad click-through rates and overall impressions. The numbers have been strong and extremely effective in showing advertisers that readers are paying attention to the sales message. The measurements have helped solidify the new format as an effective way for companies in that market to reach potential customers in a global marketplace. The client has also used this same tracking tool to measure unique visitors to its website, which has grown rapidly during the year to almost three times the former print circulation—helping advertisers extend their reach.”

Alison Bashian Advertising Manager Bashian Associates

“Report the impressions and clicks an ad receives—and then pray. Impressions are usually fairly high. Ad clicks are a mystery everywhere (ask the folks at Facebook what they think of ad clicks).”

Plan your fall today for insights and actionable data.

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